Ah! The Adventurers Guild has Synth Night on Mondays. I hope to be hanging out there a few times with local duo R&D who will be broadcasting their set live on @radiowaterloo.ca
https://radiowaterloo.ca/rd-live-from-the-adventurers-guild/
Don't know if they'll be broadcasting this Monday, tho.
#AdventurersGuild #RadioWaterloo #CommunityRadio #WaterlooRegion
Snow, high winds and freezing rain on the way Sunday for Waterloo region, Guelph and area
Waterloo region, Guelph and area are expected to see a messy mix of snow, freezing rain and high winds Sunday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/weather-statement-snow-high-winds-freezing-rain-sunday-waterloo-region-guelph-9.7129168?cmp=rss
A5. The Trans Canada Trail is billed as “the longest multi-use trail system in the world”, which is pretty cool. The standards, though, are pretty varied. This portion in Waterloo Region goes along a farm driveway before exiting the driveway onto more of a dirt path. The dirt path has been upgraded significantly since I took this photo in 2023. I’m not sure if the painted “sign” on the driveway is still there!
@ascentale @bikenite A5. Here's a fun sign next to the entrance of a tunnel that passes under a busy rural highway here in Waterloo Region. The best part for me is the differing illustration styles and level of detail on the “Shared Pathway” sign! And the sign is serious, as there are many old order Mennonites here who travel by horse and carriage.
@ascentale @bikenite A5. I’ve found a few over the years that I love. The Grand Porch Party is a mini-music festival held every June in a residential neighbourhood in Waterloo, Ontario. Sometimes I cycle to it, and sometimes I walk. Back in 2023 I spotted this lovely “Grand Porch Potty” sign. I love how the sign-maker styled it as a toilet paper banner!
Go beyond meat and potatoes this St. Patrick's Day: Jasmine Mangalaseril
St. Patrick’s Day is next week. While many may celebrate with a pint in one hand and perhaps a stew in the other, Irish food culture offers much more. CBC K-W's food columnist Jasmine Mangalaseril checks out the Irish food scene in Waterloo region and Ireland itself.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/brian-mccourt-willibald-s-padraic-flynn-roundwood-house-ireland-9.7127637?cmp=rss
@ascentale @bikenite The first photo is my first grocery run of the year earlier this week. It was around 16°C. The second photo is from earlier today. Spring in South-Western Ontario 🤣
Snow event declared in cities across Waterloo region as winter weather snarls traffic
Cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge have declared a snow event due to a winter storm moving through Waterloo region Friday dropping as much as 15 centimetres of snow by the evening.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/snow-event-declared-in-cities-across-waterloo-region-as-winter-weather-snarls-traffic-9.7127986?cmp=rss
Kate's 5 fun things to do in and around Waterloo region: March 13 to 15
It may be cold with some snow this weekend, but that's no reason not to get out and enjoy the various events happening in the community.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kate-five-fun-things-to-do-march-13-14-15-9.7126043?cmp=rss
Winter's not over yet. Up to 15 cm of snow expected to hit Waterloo region, Guelph Friday
Snow and strong winds are expected across Waterloo region and Guelph mid morning Friday and last into the night, with 10 to 15 cm of snowfall possible.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/snow-strong-winds-waterloo-region-9.7126452?cmp=rss
Temperatures have been cycling-friendly around here ( #WaterlooRegion in Ontario, Canada) the last few days, but winds are way high (40km/h) and it's raining.
So no cycling for me yet. Bike stays in the basement another month.
At 18 C, Tuesday set a new weather record in Waterloo region
The temperature hit 18.7 C at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, marking a new record for the day. The previous record was 16.3 C set in 2021.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/weather-record-warm-temperature-march-10-2026-9.7123169?cmp=rss
Rainfall warning issued as up to 40 mm possible in Waterloo region, Guelph and area
A rainfall warning has been issued by Environment Canada for Tuesday into Thursday for Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County. Up to 40 mm is possible with more rain in areas that get thunderstorms. The significant rainfall may contribute to ongoing flooding in the region.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/flooded-roads-washouts-rivers-creeks-environment-canada-9.7122647?cmp=rss
REGION INVESTS $15.1 MILLION TOWARD WATER CAPACITY ISSUE
The Region of Waterloo is hurrying to install a $15.1 million temporary plug into a water capacity crisis that effectively hung a “Closed for Business” sign over one of Canada’s fastest-growing tech hubs.
The Region of Waterloo council has approved using more than $15 million in capital funding to pay for a project that could offer a short-term solution to the ongoing water capacity issues. The project involves H2O Innovation Inc., a water and wastewater treatment company based in Oakville, installing three temporary ultrafiltration containers, each with an estimated flow rate of 50 litres per second, at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant.
The Region of Waterloo relies heavily on groundwater for its municipal drinking water supply and regularly monitors for contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). These “forever chemicals” have been detected in water systems across Canada and are subject to Health Canada drinking water guidelines.
As regulatory standards evolve and monitoring continues, the Region evaluates treatment options to ensure drinking water remains safe and meets provincial and federal requirements. Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration is a recognized method for reducing PFAS concentrations and is one of the technologies commonly considered by water utilities when addressing these compounds.
The urgency of the situation was discussed during a recent community meeting. Kevin Thomason, vice-chair of the Grand River Environmental Network, warned that the system is running on a razor-thin margin.
“If there’s a water main break or something that may take out five per cent or ten per cent of our supply…that suddenly means taps are going dry and people aren’t getting service or a hospital isn’t getting water or a fire hydrant isn’t getting water,” Thomason said.
“So, we certainly don’t want to be running so close to our capacity,” he said.
The Waterloo Region staff members explain that any delays in approval could result in significant subsequent delays to project completion, which looks to regain lost capacity at that plant. They are seeking approvals before a detailed design gets completed.
The project costs will be included in the 2026 capital budget and funded through the Water Capital Reserve Fund.
The current-year costs of this project are significantly higher in the report presented to regional council at the Special Regional Council Meeting held on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, compared to the projections detailed in a report from late January 2026. At that time, when the council was presented with a variety of potential options, the current-year impact on the capital budget was $2 million.
Projections for the total project cost remained around $16 million. The $2 million price for engineering services and $2.5 million for electrical work are preliminary estimates.
Beyond the immediate infrastructure bottleneck, a sedimentation capacity constraint at the Mannheim plant has choked the water supply by 300 litres per second, which revealed deeper concerns regarding the Waterloo Moraine.
Regional Councillor Joe Nowak plans to introduce a blue belt motion to provide permanent provincial protection for the Moraine’s high volume recharge areas (HVRAs). These specific, porous sections of land are the primary sponges that refill the region’s aquifers and the motion aims to shield them from urban sprawl to prevent long-term water depletion.
“We really need to look at this in conjunction with solving the capacity issue,” Nowak said. “Advocacy doesn’t have to be negative…we have this issue, we’re probably not going to be the only groundwater source community that has this issue.”
As the region pivots to this emergency implementation, Kenneth Brothers officially joined the Region on Feb. 23, 2026, as the Interim Commissioner of Water Services and Wastewater Operations. An internationally recognized professional engineer and a Fellow of the International Water Association, Brothers is tasked with overseeing the immediate repairs and fast-tracking the infrastructure upgrades needed to restore development capacity.
“Yes, we had a plan… but as with a lot of things, I think what we’re all seeing is there’s no holistic infrastructure plan that accompanies all of these things,” Brothers said.
During a Grand River Watershed community meeting on Feb. 6, 2026 regarding the impacts of Bill 23, experts discussed whether the region could simply tap into deep bedrock aquifers, which are water-bearing rock layers found deeply buried below the surface, to solve the water capacity issue.
Hydrogeologist Michael Friend and aquatic ecologist Jack Imhoff cautioned that this water is fundamentally different from the fresh, rain-fed “sponge” of the Waterloo Moraine.
Because this deep water resides in the Salina Formation, a prehistoric underground rock layer composed of ancient sea salt and gypsum, it absorbed extreme levels of salt over millennia. While technically fixable through desalination, the process is prohibitively expensive and produces a massive amount of toxic brine waste that the Region has no safe way to dispose of without damaging the watershed the meeting sought to protect.
“I look forward to joining the Region of Waterloo as we navigate through this pivotal moment,” Brothers said, emphasizing his commitment to “long-term water sustainability” for a population projected to reach one million by 2051.
#closedForBusiness #grandRiverWatershed #kennethBrothers #michaelFriend #PFAS #PFOA #PFOS #RegionOfWaterloo #SangjunHan #temporary #urgency #waterCapitalResearveFund #waterlooRegion
Heavy rain expected across Waterloo region, Guelph and area this week, Environment Canada warns
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement that says people in Waterloo region, Guelph and surrounding areas can expect to experience heavy rainfall Tuesday night through Wednesday, with 20 to 40 mm expected.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/heavy-rain-waterloo-region-and-guelph-special-weather-statement-9.7121036?cmp=rss
At 3pm on CKMS #CommunityConnections the Grand Harmony Women's Chorus is in the studio to do a Live, On-Air, In-Studio Performance! Listen to @RadioWaterloo at CKMS-FM 102.7, online at radiowaterloo.ca/listen/ or YouTube Live: youtu.be/ZwmXIyVPbTs
#CommunityRadio #WaterlooRegion
Listen Live | CKMS-FM 102.7 Ra...
Garbage pickup in Waterloo region spilling into the weekend after a rocky 1st week
Reactions to the new garbage collection system are rolling in after the first week of the new program. The region is asking people who were scheduled for a Thursday or Friday pickup to hang tight if their garbage bins have not yet been emptied. Trucks will be r...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/garbage-pickup-in-waterloo-region-spilling-into-the-weekend-after-a-rocky-1st-week-9.7117411?cmp=rss
#BikeNire A6: Oh man, every time, anywhere I go!
I'm in an area with a large Mennonite community, who still use horses and buggies to get around. As accommodation, #WaterlooRegion has paved the shoulders on some highways to make it easier for the horses. Happily, paved shoulders also make great cycle paths, wide enough to give good separation from car traffic.
So I ride where there are paved shoulders, even when it's not the most direct route.
#BikeNite A1: Posting from #WaterlooRegion, a nice mix of an urban core (the cities of #Kitchener, #Waterloo, and #Cambridge), surrounded by four rural townships, #Woolwich, #Wellesley, #Wilmot, and #NorthDumfries.
Some of the best cycle paths (the #TransCanadaTrail f'rinstance) pass right by, or through, farmland.
Waterloo Region relies on this federal funding to expand its cycling network. Tell your MP that this is important to you!
From VĂ©lo Canada Bikes:
"Bike infrastructure is a low cost, high impact solution for housing & health. But $500M in federal funding is now at risk. If approvals aren't issued now, we lose the 2026 construction season. TAKE ACTION: Email your MP by March 13!”
